Adults who are missing teeth want nothing more than to get their smile restored. They want to be able to eat whatever they want, laugh, and sing without worrying about people looking at their mouths. It isn't hard to understand why adults would want to make sure they replace any missing teeth they have. If you have missing teeth, you can replace them with a bridge. If you aren't sure what a bridge is, here's some information about bridges and what they are used for in dentistry.
About Bridges
It may seem that bridges are a fairly new dental invention, but bridges have in fact been around for thousands of years. In ancient China, people carved replacement teeth out of bamboo and pegged them into holes created by missing teeth. Egyptians created bridges to replace teeth out of gold or silver. The Egyptians first came up with the idea of joining the prosthetic teeth onto regular teeth for extra strength. Today's bridges are made from metal and porcelain.
Bridges can either be fixed (or permanent) or removable. If a bridge is removable, you can insert and remove the bridge by hooking it and unhooking it from your natural teeth. Fixed bridges are cemented to your natural teeth.
There are different types of bridges. The traditional bridge consists of prosthetic porcelain and metal that is cemented to a tooth on either side of your bridge. This is a strong type of bridge and can be used anywhere in your jaw. Another type of bridge is called the cantilever bridge, which means only one side of the bridge is fixed to your tooth. Cantilever bridges aren't as strong as a traditional bridge, but they are great if you are missing teeth in the front. There are also Maryland bridges, which put all of the hardware for the bridge behind your natural teeth. You can even have a bridge placed in between two implanted teeth- this type of bridge is called an implanted bridge.
No matter what kind of bridge you choose, if you are missing teeth, especially if you are missing teeth on one side of your jaw, or if the teeth you're missing are directly across from each other, a bridge may be the perfect solution for you.